In The Beginning
by Sycra
Summary: 2 sisters try to find Morpheus but they're not like other potentials. This is their story...
1. Visions

**Rated T for swearing and violence.**

**Disclaimer:** obviously the Matrix characters aren't mine but Rogue, Syd, Angel and Dan Harris are so if you want to use these characters in your fics then ask me first. To see which characters are mine and which are from the movies then check out the characters page on my website- there should be a link to it on my profile page. Plus I'm making no money from this site or these fics so please don't sue me.

**Reviews: **I love em- just try to be nice cos I'm new to this whole "writing up my ideas" thing.

**Note: **This fic is set approx. 1 month after the first movie ended. Oh yeah there's a lot of action in these fics so I hope I don't suck too badly at writing about it.

Chapter one- Visions

**_San Francisco, California. _**

_It was a beautiful night in San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge was lit up, the stars were out and the full moon was casting a small glow over everything in its path. Too bad none of it was real. Through all this illusion people still went out clubbing till the early hours of the morning, married couples still had dinner together and young children still had sweet dreams about what they were getting for Christmas- despite it being the middle of June. There was one woman who saw through it all and saw the world for what it really was- a computer generated simulation called The Matrix- and right now she was trying to find her way out of that simulation. She ran through alleyways, in front of cars, jumped over rooftops, fired bullets at policemen, crashed through windows until she found herself in a run down apartment building. The woman was fairly tall with pale skin and long, black hair that was tied back and she heaved a sigh of relief as she heard a phone ringing in the distance- her ticket out of here. She followed the ringing to Room 101 and kicked the door open. Inside, a man in a brown suit smiled as he fired his gun. The woman held out her hand and reflected the bullet right back at him- he dodged it with ease. He then dropped his gun and they engaged in hand-to-hand combat, moving so fast they were just a blur within this fake world. The Agent bent the womans wrist and pushed her to the floor but she didn't give up. She started doing roundhouse kicks and combos- determined not to let this "man" prevent her escape. He counterattacked her and pinned her up against the wall with one hand around her neck. She struggled but was too weak to fend him off and found herself gagging for air._

"_Not so tough now are we Mrs Carter."_

_The woman managed to kick him off and she collapsed to the ground, gasping to get her breath back- despite there being no air within the Matrix._

"_My name's Angel!" She forced herself to get up and started attacking him again but found herself being pushed against the wall again. The Agent stood back and before "Angel" could react, he had drawn his gun and fired 2 rounds into her chest. Blood started coming out of the womans mouth but the Agent kept firing- he had to make sure this would kill her. The woman made a small whimper and fell to the side, blood seeping out of all her wounds and trailing on the wall behind her. She slumped to the ground. _

"_Hey! What's goin on out here?" _

_The Agent turned his head to see a short, fat man standing outside another room down the hallway but then started shaking. Instead another Agent took his place and moved quietly towards the dead woman._

"_Check her." The first agent ordered. The second agent did as he was told. He bent down next to the woman and put 2 fingers on the dead womans neck. _

"_She's gone" He then got up and stood next to the first agent._

"_Hm. Goodbye Mrs Cassidy."_

"_What do we do about the other experiments?"_

"_We give them new identities and they'll never know she was their only hope."_

_The second agent turned to see a rat run out of the open doorway that the short, fat man had come out of. The rat stood, sniffed the air and ran through a hole in the door opposite. A second later, another rat came along and did the exact same thing._

_The second agent turned to the first agent._

"_It's been done."_

_The first agent nodded his head and walked to one end of the corridor. The second agent walked to the other end of the corridor, leaving another program to come and clear up "Angel's" corpse._

Syd woke up bolt upright. She panted, gasping for air from the vividness of her dream. She turned to look at the red numbers on her digital clock. 03:30. She collapsed back into her bed again, swearing under her breath.

Usually, Syd would be clubbing at this time of night but she felt really sleepy all of a sudden at about 10- which is unusual for her because she hardly ever slept. After several unsuccessful attempts to sleep again, Syd decided to get up. She pushed her feet into her bright green slippers and padded to the bathroom. She pulled the string lightswitch and stared at her reflection. She was shocked to see herself an absolute mess- Her pale skin looked tired, her Bright Red coloured hair was all tangled and her florescent pink satin pyjamas were all wrinkled- Obviously not the most "beautiful sleep" she'd had. Syd sighed as she turned on the shower and got in. Syd let out a contented sigh as she let the warm water wash away the horrible, groggy feeling of a sleepless night. After using her favourite lavender shower gel and giving her hair a quick wash, she got out and wrapped her white dressing gown around her. She then looked in the mirror again. The shower had definitely woken her up a bit but her dream still haunted her. _What the hell is up with me…it was just a dream for crying out loud!_ She decided to go out of the bathroom and into the spacious living room of her apartment that she shared with her sister Raven. The living room was fairly cosy- complete with an old sofa covered in a tasselled blanket, an armchair, a TV with VCR and their computer. The walls had various pictures of Syd and Raven with friends and at different places like when they all had a picnic in the Golden Gate Park. The walls also had posters from different Raves, DJs, Rock bands and Motorbikes. Syd went and lay down on the sofa. She fell asleep instantly.

Syd woke up to the smell of pancakes. Her whole body ached and her head was pounding, but she forced herself to sit up anyway. She was _starving_ and had to find out where that delicious smell was coming from. Still half-asleep, Syd went into the kitchen, which was only partially separated from the living room by a small island counter. There was a young woman standing with her back to Syd, flipping a pancake and placing it onto the pile of pancakes that was building up on a plate. She noticed Syd watching her and smiled. "Mornin'"

Syd smiled at her sister Raven. "Hey Raven. What's with all the pancakes?"

Raven smiled again. "What? So I can't make my baby sisters favourite breakfast?"

Syd narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. "You trashed another bar didn't you?"

Raven imitated a shocked expression and put her hands on her hips. "No I didn't actually. I saw you sleeping on the couch and figured you musta had a rough night. Obviously I was right." She nodded at Syds messed up hair and wrinkled pyjamas.

Syd looked down at herself. "You're right. I'm a total mess. Can we eat now?"

Raven laughed. "yeah sure help yourself." She placed the pancake-packed plate onto the island, which had a few stools dotted around it. Syd and Raven sat around the island, grabbed some pancakes and poured golden and chocolate syrup over them. Then they tucked in.

Raven was the eldest sister, with dark brown-almost-black hair with matching dark eyes, pale skin, long legs and curves in all the right places. Syd was only a few years younger than Raven but their appearance was similar. Syd had the same naturally dark brown hair but she had coloured it Bright Red, her eyes were a lighter shade of brown but she still had the same pale complexion as her big sis. Overall, the sisters couldn't have been more different. Syd practically LIVED for the Rave atmosphere- staying up all night in all the hottest underground nightclubs, waving glowsticks and all that kinda thing. Raven, however, enjoyed the heavy metal, causing fights in biker bars, breaking speed limits with her own motorbike, headbutting anything and everything. Starting fights with members of authority e.g. cops was also a favourite pastime. Despite all this, the sisters shared a very close bond. They had the "Psychic sister language" thing going on and always had eachothers backs.

"So why were you sleeping on the couch?" Raven asked before she gulped down some orange juice.

"Huh?" Syd asked just as she stuffed a big piece of golden-syrup covered pancake into her mouth.

Raven stopped drinking and rolled her eyes. "I asked why were you sleeping on the couch? You didn't wet the bed did ya?" She asked again with a playful smile on her face. _God I hope she didn't wet the bed…_She thought to herself.

Syd smiled. "No I _didn't _wet the bed, I just had a strange dream that's all…" Her smile faded and instead of eating her food, she just sat there played with it. Raven noticed this sudden change immediately. Her dark brown eyes fixed on her sister.

"Anything we should worry about?"

Syd shook her head. "It shouldn't be…but…"

"But what?"

Syd sighed. Now she had lost all of her appetite and she stopped playing with her breakfast. "OK…this is gonna sound crazy…"

Raven leant back on her stool then leant forward, placing her slender arms onto the island. "OK Syd you got my full attention. What is it?"

Syd sighed again. "Last night I had a really weird dream. It had this woman and she was running…"

Raven nodded. "Go on…"

Syd closed her eyes as the dream re-played itself again.

"The woman ran through an apartment building until she came to a room. She kicked open the door and fought with a guy in a suit. He shot her in the chest and she died."

Raven raised a sceptical eyebrow. "That's it? Syd that's"-

"WAIT!" Syd threw out her hand at Raven. "I'm remembering something else. This woman she…"

_The woman found herself outside an apartment- Room 101- and kicked the door open. Inside, a man in a brown suit smiled as he fired his gun. The woman held out her hand and reflected the bullet right back at him- he dodged it with ease._

Syds eyes were wide. "So _that's _what's troubling me."

"What is?" Raven held her hands in the air in frustration. _All this from just one dream…_

Syd looked at her sister. "The woman…She's telekinetic…"

Ravens eyes went wide. "What? You gotta be kiddin me Syd."

"I wish I was! Raven this guy in a suit fired his gun at her. She held up her hand and sent that bullet straight back at him. It's exactly the same way you do it!"

Raven shook her head and stood up. "That's crazy Syd! I seriously doubt that there's anybody else out there who can do what we can do. And anyway it was just a dream!"

Syd also stood up and marched over to her sister. "How do you know? You don't know that! There could be loadsa people out there like us and this woman's one of them! It wasn't just a dream I know there's something more to it- I just don't know what!"

Raven let out a frustrated sigh at her sister. Syd had had dreams like this back when they were kids. She had dreams about people fighting guys in suits and doing some really cool fighting moves - but that was all they were – _dreams­­­­_.

"Look sweetie…" Raven brought Syd to the nearest stool- the one Raven had sat in just minutes ago. Syd felt that the very little energy she had woken up with was all gone now.

"You don't believe me do you?"

Raven knelt down in front of Syd. "I want to Syd and I'm not saying that we should totally ignore this BUT I think that we should wait to see if you get any more weird dreams like this. If you do then we'll at least look into it but for now I think we should just try to carry on with our lives. That ok?"

Syd found herself smiling. _I can always count on Raven to sort out a plan. I dunno what I'd do without her…_

Syd nodded. "Ok. We'll see what happens."

Raven stood up. "Cool. Now get dressed or you'll be late for work."

Syd nodded again and stood up. "Ok Rave. Thanks."

Raven smiled. "No problem." She then walked across the living room and into her bedroom.

Syd washed up the plates and put the plate with the rest of the pancakes into the fridge. She then went into her room to get dressed for work.

_I really don't feel like this today…_


	2. The Meeting

**Rated T for swearing and violence.**

**Disclaimer:** obviously the Matrix characters aren't mine but Rogue, Syd, Angel and Dan Harris are so if you want to use these characters in your fics then ask me first. To see which characters are mine and which are from the movies then check out the characters page on my website- there should be a link to it on my profile page. Plus I'm making no money from this site or these fics so please don't sue me.

**Reviews: **I love em- just try to be nice cos I'm new to this whole "writing up my ideas" thing.

**Note: **This fic is set approx. 1 month after the first movie ended. Oh yeah there's a lot of action in these fics so I hope I don't suck too badly at writing about it.

Chapter 2 - The Meeting

_**Zion Apartments, Floor 218, Morpheus' Apartment.**_

Morpheus paced around his apartment. He had arranged a meeting between himself, Neo, Trinity and Tank- The only crewmembers of _The Nebuchadnezzar _left alive. Morpheus had placed 4 chairs into a rough circle in the middle of his living room. He had also placed some metal cups and a jug of water on the kitchen counter. _They'll be here any minute._ Morpheus thought to himself as he looked around his fairly spacious apartment. The only reason why it was so spacious is because Morpheus never really unpacked when he came home. He always saw it as a waste of time because he would be going back on his ship in a matter of days- Or in this case- Tomorrow.

This would be the first time Morpheus had seen his crew together for about a month because of the extensive repairs that had to be carried out on the ship- thanks to those damn sentinels. After Morpheus had fired the EMP, The crew were stranded and their ship was wrecked. They were very lucky that the _Brahma _was nearby and managedto tow them back to Zion for repairs. Plus their operator, Tank, needed urgent medical attention for his deep wounds from when Cypher tried to kill him with a plasma rifle. Fortunately fate was on Tanks side that day and he managed to pull through but Tank was never the same because Cypher didn't just kill Switch and Apoc, He also took the life of Tanks big brother Dozer- Something Tank would never forget…

Morpheus heard a knock on the door and immediately strode to answer it. He smiled when he opened it and saw Neo and Trinity standing there. He noticed Neos arm around Trinitys' waist. _Obviously things are going well between these two…_ he thought as he stepped aside, welcoming them in.

"Neo, Trinity. Thank you for coming." He said as his guests each sat down on one of the arranged chairs before Morpheus came and took a seat himself. Neo leaned forward. "It was our pleasure Morpheus."

Morpheus smiled, he still found it hard to believe that he had found The One- a man born inside the matrix who had been prophesised to end the war that had been going on between man and machine for over 100 years.

Morpheus took in a breath before he started the meeting. "As you all know"-

"Wait! Shouldn't we wait for Tank?" Trinity interrupted.

"Tank will come when he's ready." Morpheus said in his usual understanding, knowledgeable tone.

Morpheus carried on. "I know this may seem a little sudden, but I believe that it is in our best interests that we start to look for new potentials for our ship."

Trinity looked up in alarm. Sure it was about a month since that bastard Cypher betrayed them and killed 3 of their crewmembers (4 if you count that if it weren't for Cypher, Mouse wouldn't have been trapped in a room and shot by a SWAT team), but the memory of it all still haunted Trinity- It haunted all of them.

"You're looking for new crewmembers already?" Trinity asked. It felt strange "Replacing" the others because how could you _replace _people that were your friends?

Morpheus sighed and leaned forward, placing his hands on Trinitys shoulders. "Trinity, I hear your concerns but I need you to trust me on this ok? I know that we have Neo now but that doesn't mean that we can't stop freeing the minds of those who want to know the truth about The Matrix."

Trinity nodded. "I do trust you."

Morpheus smiled. "I know you do." He took his hands off Trinitys shoulders and leant back into his chair.

"Do we have any targets yet?" Neo asked.

"I've been keeping my eye on a few potentials by using one of the systems here in Zion, but their not ready to be unplugged yet. However, when the time comes, I want us to be ready."

"Ready for what?" Everyones heads turned to see a well built, tall and handsome black man standing in the doorway.

Trinity smiled. "Hey Tank." She got up and went to gently hug her friend. "It's good to see you."

Tank returned the hug. "Yeah you too Trin." They ended the hug and Trinity went back to her seat. Tank went to sit down in the only empty chair as Neo filled him in.

"Morpheus wants to start looking for new crewmembers."

Tanks raised his eyebrows. "Already?"

Morpheus nodded. "As I said earlier, I know this may seem a little sudden but it has been three months. We won't be unplugging anyone for the time being but I've been keeping my eye on a few potentials. We can't let previous bad experiences get in the way of our goals. It _has_ been about a month you know."

Tank nodded. "I understand sir, I just…wasn't expecting it to be so sudden…that's all…"

Trinity placed a comforting hand onto Tanks shoulder, her whole heart going out to him. Tank and his brother were very close- and because Dozer had been around Tanks entire life, how was Tank supposed to live _without _a big brother?

"Is there anything else?" Trinity asked.

Morpheus Nodded. "Just one more thing. As well as looking for new potentials, I feel we must try to contact The Oracle- for Neo." All eyes in the room glanced over to Neo, he just nodded.

Morpheus stood up and straightened the red sweater he was wearing. "Well I feel like I've covered everything. Just don't be late tomorrow morning- we won't have a minute to lose."

Everyone nodded as they rose from their seats. Morpheus walked them all to the door and opened it.

"You should all get some rest, you'll be needing it." He said as Neo was first to walk out onto the walkway. He turned around to wait for Trinity.

"Thank you Morpheus." He said in his usual quiet tone. Morpheus just bowed his head and closed his door after Trinity and Tank had walked out onto the walkway.

"Well, I'd better be heading back." Tank said as he started to walk back to his apartment.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" Trinity asked as Neo put an arm around her again. Neo hadn't known Tank or Dozer that long after he got unplugged but he knew that they must have been quite close because they worked with each other every single day. Neo knew that he'd be lost without Trinity by his side.

Tank nodded. "Yeah I'll be alright, besides I wouldn't wanna keep you two from doing you-know-what." He said with a cheeky smile whilst waving his finger playfully at them. Neo and Trinity smiled. _Leave it to Tank to bring a smile to things- just like he always used to._ Trinity thought as she saw her friend begin to walk away.

"OK then, just don't be late tomorrow." Trinity called over her shoulder as her and Neo began walking on the opposite direction.

"I won't!" Tank said in the same way. He smiled as he thought that this time tomorrow, he would be back on the ship where he belonged. He just had to convince Zee…

It took Tank about 15 minutes to get back to Zee and Links apartment from Morpheus' place. He had been staying with his sister and brother-in-law ever since he got back about a month ago. He just didn't want to be alone. Dozers widow Cas dropped by frequently with Tanks nephew and niece but he still remembered when he had to break the news to Cas that her husband wasn't gonna be walking through the door again- A day he would never forget.

The old metal door creaked as he opened it and he looked around. The apartment had similarities to the room he had on The Neb, with the steel walls and basic interior but at least it was real. _Looks like I have the place to myself, which is good cos I don't want another argument with Zee._ Tank thought as he headed into the spare room- his temporary sleeping place- to pack up his stuff. When he walked through the doorway, he stopped as he saw his sister sitting on his bed looking troubled. Tank took in a breath. _So much for having the place to myself…_

He walked into his room, weary of another fight. "Hey Zee…you ok?"

Zee just glared at him- it was gonna take more than a concerned look from her brother to make her feel better. She shook her head. "I can't believe you're actually doing this Tank."

"Doing What?" Tank mumbled as he picked up his bag and shoved some old sweaters into it.

"You know what." Zee said quietly but with an angry tone to her voice.

"We've been over this Zee…" Tank didn't look at his sister, he just carried on packing.

"Well we're going over it again!" Zee got up and linked her arm with Tanks. He took in a breath. _Here we go…_He thought.

"Tank, I still don't see why you want to go back on that ship."

"Zee…"

Zee held up her hand "No let me finish. Tank…" She turned him around so he faced her. "I don't like you going back on that ship. I know we've had this conversation a million times during the last month but I'm…afraid of it…I'm afraid it'll take you too…"

Tank felt a small twinge of grief come over as he thought about what happened to Dozer. He could see his sisters point. If he died on the Neb, then Zee would have lost all her brothers. Eventhough Tank knew that her husband Link would look after her, you can't replace the bonds of siblings.

Tank sighed. "Look I know what you mean Zee, but I can't just abandon my position on the ship just because of what happened."

"You wouldn't be abandoning it- you'd be saving yourself! - There's a difference! Please Tank don't do this!" Zee pleaded with her brother. She would have got down on her knees if she thought it would help.

"My minds made up Zee." Tank turned back to his bag and crammed some more stuff into it. "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning. I know you're not happy about it and I know you don't understand why I'm doing this, but having seen some of the things Neo can do-"

"Why what's so special about what he can do? Fancy karate kicks and dodging bullets? Tank anyone who has ever been unplugged and trained up can do that!"

Tank swung back to Zee again. "Can anyone stop bullets in midair? Can anyone kill an agent? Not just anyone Zee- Neo can. I saw it."

Zee folded her arms and gave Tank a scorned expression. She knew when she had been beaten- even if she was on the sane side of the argument. Tank placed his hands on her shoulders so she looked into his eyes.

"Zee, Morpheus believes that Neo will end the war. Dozer believed it too and so do I. That's why I have to go back. To do my part- to be an operator on that ship." He then hugged his sister and was slightly surprised when she hugged back.

Zee sighed. "OK. But for the record I'm not happy about this." They ended the hug. "Any of it."

"I know." Tank smiled a little and zee smiled a little back.

"I'm gonna miss having you around, always nicking the last piece of stale bread…"Zee said with a sad laugh.

"Yeah but you know I'll be coming home."

"You'd better." They hugged again for another minute then Tank broke off from it.

"I'd better finish packing my stuff up then get some rest. Like I said, Morpheus wants all of us there first thing tomorrow and I don't wanna disappoint him."

"OK. You'll say goodbye before you leave wont you? Even if you have to wake me and Link up?"

"You know I will sis."

Zee smiled a little. She knew there was no stopping her brother if there was something he had to do. Dozer was the same.

"OK then. Night Tank."

"Night Zee."

Zee left his room and Tank finished packing his bag. He then placed it at the foot of his bed then got ready for bed. He lay down and the feeling of anxiety bubbled in his stomach. He had a feeling that something would happen tomorrow. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing but he thought it best to keep these thoughts to himself- the last thing he wanted was to make Zee even more worried than she already was- if that was possible. They were just pointless little worries about him doing his job wrong and whether Dozer and all his other deceased friends memories would be forgotten if-or according to Morpheus, When- The Neb gets new crewmembers. _I was wondering when you crazy thoughts would kick in_, he thought as he closed his eyes, knowing that sleep wouldn't come easily tonight…


End file.
